Piranesi

By Susanna Clarke

The award-winning, New York Times bestselling fantasy sensation that Madeline Miller called, “a miraculous and luminous feat of storytelling,” Piranesi is an intoxicating, hypnotic novel set in a dreamlike alternative reality from the author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

Piranesi's house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls lined with thousands upon thousands of statues. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; and waves thunder up staircases, while rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house.

There is one other person in the house-a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known.

“Spellbinding, strange, and unforgettably original” (Esquire), Piranesi introduces an astonishing new world, an infinite labyrinth, full of startling images and surreal beauty.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Sep 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781635575644

Susanna Clarke

Susanna Clarke (Nottingham, 1959) es Bachelor of Arts por la Universidad de Oxford. En 1992, al tiempo que publicaba algunos relatos breves, comenzó a escribir Jonathan Strange y el señor Norrell (Salamandra, 2005), una obra cuya escritura le ocupó más de diez años y se convirtió en un éxito de ventas internacional, siendo nominada al Premio Booker y distinguida como mejor novela del año por la revista Time y los libreros independientes de Estados Unidos. Es autora también de Las damas de Grace Adieu (Salamandra, 2007), una recopilación de ocho cuentos, y Piranesi (Salamandra, 2021), una novela que obtuvo el Women's Prize for Fiction y que se ha traducido a más de une veintena de idiomas.

Book preview

PART 1

PIRANESI

When the Moon rose in the Third Northern Hall I went to the Ninth Vestibule

entry for the first day of the fifth month in the year the albatross came to the south-western halls

When the Moon rose in the Third Northern Hall I went to the Ninth Vestibule to witness the joining of three Tides. This is something that happens only once every eight years.

The Ninth Vestibule is remarkable for the three great Staircases it contains. Its Walls are lined with marble Statues, hundreds upon hundreds of them, Tier upon Tier, rising into the distant heights.

I climbed up the Western Wall until I reached the Statue of a Woman carrying a Beehive, fifteen metres above the Pavement. The Woman is two or three times my own height and the Beehive is covered with marble Bees the size of my thumb. One Bee – this always gives me a slight sensation of queasiness – crawls over her left Eye. I squeezed Myself into the Woman’s Niche and waited until I heard the Tides roaring in the Lower Halls and felt the Walls vibrating with the force of what was about to happen.

First came the Tide from the Far Eastern Halls. This Tide ascended the Easternmost Staircase without violence. It had no colour to speak of and its Waters were no more than ankle deep. It spread a grey mirror across the Pavement, the surface of which was marbled with streaks of milky Foam.

Next came the Tide from the Western Halls. This Tide thundered up the Westernmost Staircase and hit the Eastern Wall with a great Clap, making all the Statues tremble. Its Foam was the white of old fishbones, and its churning depths were pewter. Within seconds its Waters were as high as the Waists of the First Tier of Statues.

Last came the Tide from the Northern Halls. It hurled itself up the middle Staircase, filling the Vestibule with an explosion of glittering, ice-white Foam. I was drenched and blinded. When I could see again Waters were cascading down the Statues. It was then that I realised I had made a mistake in calculating the volumes of the Second and Third Tides. A towering Peak of Water swept up to where I crouched. A great Hand of Water reached out to pluck me from the Wall. I flung my arms around the Legs of the Woman carrying a Beehive and prayed to the House to protect me. The Waters covered me and for a moment I was surrounded by the strange silence that comes when the Sea sweeps over you and drowns its own sounds. I thought that I was going to die; or else that I would be swept away to Unknown Halls, far from the rush and thrum of Familiar Tides. I clung on.

Then, just as suddenly as it began, it was over. The Joined Tides swept on into the surrounding Halls. I heard the thunder and crack as the Tides struck the Walls. The Waters in the Ninth Vestibule sank rapidly down until they barely covered the Plinths of the First Tier of Statues.

I realised that I was holding on to something. I opened my hand and found a marble Finger from some Faraway Statue that the Tides had placed there.

The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite.

A description of the World

entry for the seventh day of the fifth month in the year the albatross came to the south-western halls

I am determined to explore as much of the World as I can in my lifetime. To this end I have travelled as far as the Nine-Hundred-and-Sixtieth Hall to the West, the Eight-Hundred-and-Ninetieth Hall to the North and the Seven-Hundred-and-Sixty-Eighth Hall to the South. I have climbed up to the Upper Halls where Clouds move in slow procession and Statues appear suddenly out of the Mists. I have explored the Drowned Halls where the Dark Waters are carpeted with white water lilies. I have seen the Derelict Halls of the East where Ceilings, Floors – sometimes even Walls! – have collapsed and the dimness is split by shafts of grey Light.

In all these places I have stood in Doorways and looked ahead. I have never seen any indication that the World was coming to an End, but only the regular progression of Halls and Passageways into the Far Distance.

No Hall, no Vestibule, no Staircase, no Passage is without its Statues. In most Halls they cover all the available space, though here and there you will find an Empty Plinth, Niche or Apse, or even a blank space on a Wall otherwise encrusted with Statues. These Absences are as mysterious in their way as the Statues themselves.

I have observed that, while the Statues of a particular Hall are more or less uniform in size, there is considerable variation between Halls. In some places the figures are two or three times the height of a Human Being, in others more or less life-size and in yet others, only reach as high as my shoulder. The Drowned Halls contain Statues that are gigantic – fifteen to twenty metres high – but they are the exception.

I have begun a Catalogue in which I intend to record the Position, Size and Subject of each Statue, and any other points of interest. So far I have completed the First and Second South-Western Halls and am engaged on the Third. The enormity of this task sometimes makes me feel a little dizzy, but as a scientist and an explorer I have a duty to bear witness to the Splendours of the World.

The Windows of the House look out upon Great Courtyards; barren, empty places paved with stone. The Courtyards are generally four-sided, although now and then you will come upon one with six sides, or eight, or even – these are rather strange and gloomy – only three.

Outside the House there are only the Celestial Objects: Sun, Moon and Stars.

The House has three Levels. The Lower Halls are the Domain of the Tides; their Windows – when seen from across a Courtyard – are grey-green with the restless Waters and white with the spatter of Foam. The Lower Halls provide nourishment in the form of fish, crustaceans and sea vegetation.

The Upper Halls are, as I have said, the Domain of the Clouds; their Windows are grey-white and misty. Sometimes you will see a whole line of Windows suddenly illuminated by a flash of lightning. The Upper Halls give Fresh Water, which is shed in the Vestibules in the form of Rain and flows in Streams down Walls and Staircases.

Between these two (largely uninhabitable) Levels are the Middle Halls, which are the Domain of birds and of men. The Beautiful Orderliness of the House is what gives us Life.

This morning I looked out of a Window in the Eighteenth South-Eastern Hall. On the other side of the Courtyard I saw the Other looking out of a Window. The Window was tall and dark; the Other’s noble head with its high forehead and neatly trimmed beard was framed in one Corner. He was lost in thought as he so often is. I waved to him. He did not see me. I waved more extravagantly. I jumped up and down with great energy. But the Windows of the House are many and he did not see me.

A list of all the people who have ever lived and what is known of them

entry for the tenth day of the fifth month in the year the albatross came to the south-western halls

Since the World began it is certain that there have existed fifteen people. Possibly there have been more; but I am a scientist and must proceed according to the evidence. Of the fifteen people whose existence is verifiable, only Myself and the Other are now living.

I will now name the fifteen people and give, where relevant, their positions.

First Person: Myself

I believe that I am between thirty and thirty-five years of age. I am approximately 1.83 metres tall and of a slender build.

Second Person: The Other

I estimate the Other’s age to be between fifty and sixty. He is approximately 1.88 metres tall and, like me, of a slender build. He is strong and fit for his age. His skin is a pale olive colour. His short hair and moustache are dark brown. He has a beard that is greying, almost white; it is neatly trimmed and slightly pointed. The bones of his skull are particularly fine with high, aristocratic cheekbones and a tall, impressive forehead. The overall impression he gives is of a friendly but slightly austere person devoted to the life of the intellect.

He is a scientist like me and the only other living human being, so naturally I value his friendship highly.

The Other believes that there is a Great and Secret Knowledge hidden somewhere in the World that will grant us enormous powers once we have discovered it. What this Knowledge consists of he is not entirely sure, but at various times he has suggested that it might include the following:

1.  vanquishing Death and becoming immortal

2.  learning by a process of telepathy what other people are thinking

3.  transforming ourselves into eagles and flying through the Air

4.  transforming ourselves into fish and swimming through the Tides

5.  moving objects using only our thoughts

6.  snuffing out and reigniting the Sun and Stars

7.  dominating lesser intellects and bending them to our will

The Other and I are searching diligently for this Knowledge. We meet twice a week (on Tuesdays and Fridays) to discuss our work. The Other organises his time meticulously and never permits our meetings to last longer than one hour.

If he requires my presence at other times, he calls out ‘Piranesi!’ until I come.

Piranesi. It is what he calls me.

Which is strange because as far as I remember it is not my name.

Third Person: The Biscuit-Box Man

The Biscuit-Box Man is a skeleton that resides in an Empty Niche in the Third North-Western Hall. The bones have been ordered in a particular way: long ones of a similar size have been collected and tied together with twine made from seaweed. To the right is placed the skull and to the left is a biscuit box containing all the small bones – finger bones, toe bones, vertebrae etc. The biscuit box is red. It has a picture of biscuits and bears the legend, Huntley Palmers and Family Circle.

When I first discovered the Biscuit-Box Man, the seaweed twine had dried up and fallen apart and he had become rather untidy. I made new twine from fish leather and tied up his bundles of bones again. Now he is in good order once more.

Fourth Person: The Concealed Person

One day three years ago I climbed the Staircase in the Thirteenth Vestibule. Finding that the Clouds had departed from that Region of the Upper Halls and that they were bright, clear and filled with Sunlight, I determined to explore further. In one of the Halls (the one positioned directly above the Eighteenth North-Eastern Hall) I found a half-collapsed skeleton wedged in a narrow space between a Plinth and the Wall. From the current disposition of the bones I believe it was originally in a sitting position with the knees drawn up to the chin. I have been unable to learn the gender. If I took the bones out to examine them, I could never get them back in again.

Persons Five to Fourteen: The People of the Alcove

The People of the Alcove are all skeletal. Their bones are laid side by side on an Empty Plinth in the Northernmost Alcove of the Fourteenth South-Western Hall.

I have tentatively identified three skeletons as female and three as male, and there are four whose gender I cannot determine with any certainty. One of these I have named the Fish-Leather Man. The skeleton of the Fish-Leather Man is incomplete and many of the bones are much worn away by the Tides. Some are scarcely more than little pebbles of bone. There are small holes bored in the ends of some of them and fragments of fish leather. From this I draw several conclusions:

1.  The skeleton of the Fish-Leather Man is older than the others

2.  The skeleton of the Fish-Leather Man was once displayed differently, its bones threaded together with thongs of fish leather, but over time the leather decayed

3.  The people who came after the Fish-Leather Man (presumably the People of the Alcove) held human life in such reverence that they patiently collected his bones and laid him with their own dead

Question: when I feel myself about to die, ought I to go and lie down with the People of the Alcove? There is, I estimate, space for four more adults. Though I am a young man and the day of my Death is (I hope) some way off, I have given this matter some thought.

Another skeleton lies next to the People of the Alcove (though this does not count as one of the people who have lived). It is the remains of a creature approximately 50 centimetres long and with a tail the same length as its body. I have compared the bones to the different kinds of Creatures that are portrayed in the Statues and believe them to belong to a monkey. I have never seen a live monkey in the House.

The Fifteenth Person: The Folded-Up Child

The Folded-Up Child is a skeleton. I believe it to be female and approximately seven years of age. She is posed on an Empty Plinth in the Sixth South-Eastern Hall. Her knees are drawn up to her chin, her arms clasp her knees, her head is bowed down. There is a necklace of coral beads and fishbones around her neck.

I have given a great deal of thought to this child’s relationship to me. There are living in the World (as I have already explained) only Myself and the Other; and we are both male. How will the World have an Inhabitant when we are dead? It is my belief that the World (or, if you will, the House, since the two are for all practical purposes identical) wishes an Inhabitant for Itself to be a witness to its Beauty and the recipient of its Mercies. I have postulated that the House intended the Folded-Up Child to be my Wife, only something happened to prevent it. Ever since I had this thought it has seemed only right to share with her what I have.

I visit all the Dead, but particularly the Folded-Up Child. I bring them food, water and water lilies from the Drowned Halls. I speak to them, telling them what I have been doing and I describe any Wonders that I have seen in the House. In this way they know that they are not alone.

Only I do this. The Other does not. As far as I know he has no religious practices.

The Sixteenth Person

And You. Who are You? Who is it that I am writing for? Are You a traveller who has cheated Tides and crossed Broken Floors and Derelict Stairs to reach these Halls? Or are You perhaps someone who inhabits my own Halls long after I am dead?

My Journals

entry for the seventeenth day of the fifth month in the year the albatross came to the south-western halls

I write down what I observe in my notebooks. I do this for two reasons. The first is that Writing inculcates habits of precision and carefulness. The second is to preserve whatever knowledge I possess for you, the Sixteenth Person. I keep my notebooks in a brown leather messenger bag; the bag is generally stored in a hollow place behind the Statue of an Angel caught on a Rose Bush in the North-Eastern Corner of the Second Northern Hall. This is also where I keep my watch, which I need on Tuesdays and Fridays when I go to meet the Other at 10 o’clock. (On other days I try not to carry my watch for fear that Sea Water will get inside and damage the mechanism.)

One of my notebooks is my Table of Tides. In it I set down the Times and Volumes of High and Low Tides and make calculations of the Tides to come. Another notebook is my Catalogue of Statues. In the others I keep my Journal in which I write my thoughts and memories and make a record of my days. So far my Journal has filled nine notebooks; this is the tenth. All are numbered and most are labelled with the dates to which they refer.

No. 1 is labelled December 2011 to June 2012

No. 2 is labelled June 2012 to November 2012

No. 3 was originally labelled November 2012, but this has been crossed out at some point and relabelled Thirtieth Day in the Twelfth Month in the Year of Weeping and Wailing, to the Fourth Day of the Seventh Month in the Year I discovered the Coral Halls

Both No. 2 and No. 3 have gaps where pages have been violently removed. I have puzzled over the reason for this and tried to imagine who might have done it, but as yet have reached no conclusion.

No. 4 is labelled Tenth Day of the Seventh Month in the Year I discovered the Coral Halls, to the Ninth Day of the Fourth Month in the Year I named the Constellations

No. 5 is labelled Fifteenth Day of the Fourth Month in the Year I named the Constellations, to the Thirtieth Day of the Ninth Month in the Year I counted and named the Dead

No. 6 is labelled First Day of the Tenth Month in the Year I counted and named the Dead, to the Fourteenth Day of the Second Month in the Year that the Ceilings in the Twentieth and Twenty-First North-Eastern Halls collapsed

No. 7 is labelled Seventeenth Day of the Second Month in the Year that the Ceilings in the Twentieth and Twenty-First North-Eastern Halls collapsed, to the last Day of the same Year

No. 8 is labelled First Day of the Year I travelled to the Nine-Hundred-and-Sixtieth Western Hall, to the Fifteenth Day of the Tenth Month of the same Year

No. 9 is labelled Sixteenth Day of the Tenth Month in the Year I travelled to the Nine-Hundred-and-Sixtieth Western Hall, to the Fourth Day of the Fifth Month in the Year the Albatross came to the South-Western Halls

This Journal (No. 10) was begun on the Fifth Day of the Fifth Month in the

Reviews for Piranesi

[keanesubscription · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Piranesi is a wonderful book which drags the leader into the magical world of the house. Susana Clarke has wonderfully created a world that is beautiful and transcendent. The themes of philosophy, religion and the human psyche are all beautifully created in the halls of the house. Piranesi is a must read for all

[michellelebiedz · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Beautifully written! Kept me reading till the very end! And, I enjoyed the story!!

[Eniola Afolabi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Nice world build with good mystery. I would recommend reading.

[Phineas Elliott · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely incredible! I don’t rate books 5 stars a lot but this deserves it. Definitely would read again.

[Megan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It may be hard to get into at first but it is worth it to keep going. This is a really fun book club read since there's so much to talk about and dig into. I first read it months ago and still think about it.

[Diana Andrea Serrano Arce · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Paisajes que tu mente toma y no suelta, historia solemne

[oreseur · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I felt super lost up until ~30% ish of this book until the mystery finally started unfolding. What a nice read!

[marissa2fallon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My favorite book of 2020. A puzzle in book form

[Markie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It’s a beautiful book. Just let it flow and don’t ask too many questions.

[Amy Duncan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Some readers may find the writing style jarring at first; the fact that you're not used to it is proof that this is no average book. This is something special. Piranesi is unique and his point of view is rewarding.

His journals are a kind and peaceful exploration of loneliness, innocence, the complexities of one's inner experience. I don't prefer fiction, but this book was worth the exception. It was a quick read and it only took two sittings.

[Coltamus Brungar · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fantastic read! About loneliness, friendship, and knowing yourself. Science fiction fantasy

[debicates · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"I am not home. I am here."

Such a lovely novel. One that I'm sure I will think of again and again. It's a rare read that can mean so many things--a multi-faceted gem that could reflect back what you are thinking at any given time. Part of its beauty is that even once the mystery is solved, it remains mysterious.

I am not a world-building fantasy reader. Or, at least I wasn't until I read this. In the beginning, I pushed through my resistance. I stayed with it because every where I turned on BookTube (YouTubers that talk about books call themselves that), they sung its high praises. But they didn't tell much at all about the particulars. Something in their faces while talking about it, though, convinced me I wanted to know that experience too.

So I won't say much. Except this is an experience you should have, and you should have that experience like a fellow Innocent.

[Kelsey Wood · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not my favorite book. It was not bad, per say, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

[Katie Pershon · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I honestly didn’t understand the hype and maybe that’s part of what ruined it for me. The story was, fine, but I’ve read other books that had the same elements that did what this attempts more effectively.

So here’s my recs if you’re looking for more elements of this book:
-Crazy wierd setting with a bit of a mind f*ck story: Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
- humorous, quirky narrator: Tess and the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
- heartbreaking commentary on the loss of innocence and the ways in which society overlooks harm for the sake of intelligence: Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

[mesamitch3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I loved the story it was great!

I just hate because I figured out the ending

And this story is extremely slow until you get to page 50-60?

[almin-70827 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Piranesi - Italian artist famous for etchings, a particular theme are 'prisons’ (The Round Tower and The Pyramid of Cestius) with 'labyrinthine spaces and no way out'. His etchings challenged traditional 'perceptions of space and time' and his mastery was Chiaroscuro ‘light-dark’….

The statues became my favorites characters, I loved them as much as Piranesi. It has conflict, mystery and some magical realism is only 245 pages and it works beautifully.

This was my 2nd attempt at Piranesi from several months ago, the first chapter was fanciful and confusing, I didn’t want to put in the effort so it wasn’t the right time to read. I picked it up again because it was being discussed on a podcast I like and I loved it.

Close Reads Podcast

[bellac89 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The mystery was intriguing enough to continue reading without feeling bored or getting the urge to DNF but towards the end after most of it was revealed I admit I Skimmed the rest. the ending was obsure and a letdown for me.

[sriddell_8 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Piranesi lives in a labyrinth of many, many buildings. He's kept company by statues, birds, and 13 skeletons. And one other person, who he refers to as Other.

Piranesi is a scientist, studying the statues, the tides, the birds. And twice a week he meets with Other to search for the Great and Secret Knowledge.

This beautiful and heartbreaking book isn't for everyone, but I found it entrancing. Piranesi's world and heart are both so pure.

I know others haven't liked the ending, but I really loved it. Especially when the final narrator is neither Piranesi nor his former human self. Instead he's a blend of the two.

[spiritedstardust · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

2.5

Guy who wanders around a seaside labyrinth eventually finds out how he got there and who he was.

I would have DNFd this if a lot of ppl hadn’t raved about it as the first 70pages is just him cataloguing rooms in his journal and being a lost cunt. It’s boring until he has a proper conversation with The Other that things begin to get a bit interesting. But that’s all they get - a bit interesting.
The book is mostly about this guy talking about tides, birds and statues.

[Johannah Timbreblue · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this little book and its upside-down whirl towards the end. Hang on!

[gllyons-120926 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.5 stars really. This book started off amazing. An interesting main character who is clearly deluded and confused about the world, but in a way we just can't understand. Unfortunately, the resolution of the mystery just wasn't as interesting as the initial presentation.

[librarycin · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

2.5 stars

“Piranesi” is in some world where there are multiple connected Halls and there are statues everywhere. There is only one other (live) person (whom he calls The Other), but Piranesi has found bones of about thirteen other people, so includes them in his count, as well. Piranesi and The Other are scientists.

This was odd. It got slightly more interesting toward the end, but still odd. Combine some parts fantasy (and/or magical realism) and literary fiction (and maybe some philosophy?) and it’s mostly not my thing.

[elahrairah-115856 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Definitely as good as they say. Wonderful, psychedelic, fever dream of a novel. Takes a concept whiffed in House Of Leaves and adds an unexpected murder mystery, sinister academics that are perhaps a pastiche of Timothy Morton and postmodernists, and so much beautiful language that I felt my innser self joining the House!

[verixsilvercrow · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is very... spiritual, in a way that's somewhat unfamiliar to me in writing; my normal experience with fantasy is much more plot-driven. I would describe this book as very much more setting-driven (a self-evident statement to those who have read the book) and the setting itself comes with a gut-feeling truth to it; the House, on a metaphorical level, strongly recalls the feeling of dreams, of the "feely" or "intuitive" thoughts rather than the intellectual.

That's not to say that the plot or characters are lacking; rather, the book gives an impressive understanding of the main duo (Piranesi and the Other), both of whom are multifaceted, fully-realized characters. And the plot itself, though not overly complex (how could it be - the book is under 300 pages!), still carries its share of intrigue without clogging the book up. This is completely effective - in a sense, the book feels less like an itinerary for telling a narrative, which appears fully-formed from the page like Athena from the head of Zeus, and more like an exploration to tell an idea and let the reader make what they will of it. It's a brilliant execution and amazingly efficient.

There's nothing I can ding this book on; nothing I can say is less than "right" about the book, because it did exactly what it set out to do and never missed on that goal. What I can say, from a subjective standpoint, is that I loved this book, but it fell just shy of my all-time favourites; like hitting the green ring around the bulls-eye. Yet it's mostly a crapshoot to fall within or without of that ring, and this book has more then earned a high rating.

Four and a half stars.

[chrisriesbeck · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is one of those books that the less said about it, the better. Don't even read the numerous positive reviews on the front matter, though fortunately they're pretty spoiler-free. This is begins as if it will be an extended literary metaphor -- the diary of someone who lives and roams a House of seemingly unlimited rooms, filled with statues, threatened by tides. It has that detached observer feel about it, that usually means there will be events but little emotion. But it develops in surprising ways. and there is an emotional resolution, delayed almost to the breaking point.

I was a great fan of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, and enjoyed The Ladies of Grace Adieu, though it was much of a piece with Strange. This is another creation entirely.

Highly recommended.

[arten60 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

After a slow start, I warmed to it. Having finished the novel I was struck by the idea that this was about Jungian Shadow Work as the main character Piranesi finds himself in a strange world with a limited number of other characters with him, many of whom seemed to be archetypes trapped in time-frozen as it were by the force of the deep.
The waters represent the emotions of Piranesi who seemed to slip into this other world by being put into trance by the slippery Other. This Other who goes by the name of Valentine Ketterley turns out to be the main protagonist he put Piranesi into this strange world and endeavoured to keep him there, we see Stockholm syndrome at work as Piranesi bonds with the Other and does not want to upset him. Then along comes 16, the Hero, the one who rescues him from this strange dream-like world Raphael turns out to be a policewoman who can enter the Labyrinth at any time. In my opinion, she represents the Higher Self the wisdom of Sophia and she carefully brings Piranesi back to this world, this mundane reality, which he struggles with and longs for another deep dive into the dangerous unconscious.

[finerandi · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This was my first attempt to read Piranesi, and I'm sad to admit that it remains an attempt only. I have not been able to finish the book, and after a week or so of trying to force myself to pick it back up, I am calling it quits. There have been very few times in my life that I have not finished a book, and I had high hopes for this one.
While I actually quite enjoyed the descriptions of the house and the different statues, and Piranesi's daily tasks initially, after a bit it began to feel monotonous. The author uses beautiful imagery, and the writing itself - the words used - were really wonderful; but the way the story flowed (or not) was difficult for me. I actually fell asleep, twice, trying to read it.
I'm told that making it to the end of this one is worth it, so perhaps I will try again another time, in a different headspace; but for now this one is not something I enjoyed.

[thebookishescape · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Piranesi’s house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house.
There is one other person in the house—a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known.

REVIEW: I'm one of the few who dislikes this book.

Having heard excellent things about Piranesi, I was looking forward to reading it. This book is riveting and unputdownable. It's a story no one has ever seen before, and the twist is going to be mind-blowing. I found none of those to be true.

For one thing—and please forgive me for this — I don't find endless descriptions of halls, statues, vestibules, tides, fish, and birds exciting. This book is mainly about that! While slowly reading and rereading each description, I could keep track of every hall, statue, vestibule, tide, fish, and bird I encountered for the first thirty pages. As I read, I grew tired and stopped retaining information.

Because I was so confused, I couldn't relate to Piranesi. The other characters were not given names but nicknames or symbols, which I thought did not help at all. Since I didn't finish the book, I can't reveal much about the plot.

Overall, I found the book disappointing and not worth the hype.

[quickmind · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this novel and found it quite easy to read. I've heard that some people had a hard time with the beginning of the novel, and I can see that because the hook is slow to reveal itself, but I found it interesting enough to keep me reading. As the story unfolded, the tragic mystery began to reveal itself and I was definitely hooked. I enjoyed the length of the story, but I felt like it could have been a touch longer to give the characters more time to grow on the reader, but ultimately I think it was the right length. The act of reading that we do as readers, where we willfully suspend our normal beliefs and choose to enter a world entirely made up is exactly what is needed to perform the ritual to enter Piranesi's world. That was the brilliance of this novel, tapping into the true magical experience of reading as a journey of transformation, discovery, and trust. We can be misled when we are that vulnerable, but we can also, if we are truly open, gain the great and secret knowledge that can be bestowed upon us during the journey. And like Piranesi, we will never be the same person again if we truly receive the great and secret knowledge openly.

[zeljanamaricferli · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Piranesi lives in the House, where upper floors are filled with clouds and tides surge through the lower levels. The House seems infinite and it is filled with classical statues.
The atmosphere of this book is dreamlike and strange, at times claustrophobic.
It helped that Piranesi is a very likeable character who we get to love for his curiosity and kindness. He is forever grateful to the House that "provides" for him.

(The historical Piranesi is an interesting figure as well, and interestingly Goethe said of him that his drawings of ancient Rome were so magnificent that the reality couldn’t measure up.)

I was pulled into this book right away and absolutely loved the setting. It is not an easy book, as there is this sense of sadness permeating the whole story. This emotional heaviness intensifies as the story progresses. Still, it is a wonderful study of loneliness, gratitude, survival, self-reliance...
Truly, one of the most original books I've ever read.

Fun note to self: the atmosphere of this book reminded me of an old video game from the 90s called Solstice.